


From Gray to Gold

by pancake_surprise



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Grand Prix Final, Grand Prix Final Banquet, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 21:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10173191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pancake_surprise/pseuds/pancake_surprise
Summary: Victor Nikiforov did not believe in curses.





	

He didn’t believe in curses. No matter what his mother or his father said, he did not, under any circumstances, believe in curses. As a boy his mother had explained the ancient story that told how his ancestors had lost the ability to see the vibrancy of the world all because some stupid thing they’d messed up. He never listened very closely because well, he did not believe in curses. But yet, his mother continued to tell him over and over again that someday, he would see the world for what is really was: a bright blue sky, green grass, rosy cheeks, and all. Like the fairy-tales she read to him before bed, she told him that the curse would be lifted from him the moment he met the “lucky lady” he was meant to marry. Even at nine years old, he knew that was a load of crap. For far more than one reason. No, he was simply colorblind or perhaps colors weren’t even real. Maybe his mother was lying to him about the existence of colors. Those were the only plausible explanations for the dull gray hues he saw the world in. No, Victor Nikiforov, did not believe in curses.

Victor eventually learned that his mother had not been lying about the existence of colors because other people spoke of them too. His classmates discussing the colors of their drawings and later his rinkmates arguing over which colors suited their costumes bests. “Victor looks best in blues and purples,” one girl decreed, Victor hadn’t bothered to learn her name yet. “No, no, red,” another argued. “Are you kidding me? Blues and purples are best. He’s got gray and silver hair for crying out loud.”

_Gray and silver hair? At least that much is right when I look in the mirror._

He took what she said to heart though and ensured from then on that as many of his costumes as possible fell in the blue-purple spectrum. Of course, he’d never actually be able to tell if Yakov went with something different but still he tried.

At 27, he still didn’t believe in curses. He’d seen nearly every eye doctor in Europe by then, each one of them always saying the same thing, “there’s no medical reason for your color blindness.” One doctor suggested it might psychological but, in the end, that didn’t lead anywhere either. Plausible medical explanation or not, Victor Nikiforov did not believe in curses.

As Victor skated at the Grand Prix Final 2016, something was different but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The room just seemed lighter. The dark shades of gray that always lingered on his periphery weren’t so intense. His whole being wasn’t as heavy.

_Maybe I’m having a stroke. An aneurism? Did I get a concussion falling the other day during practice?_

As he stepped onto the podium the disk around his neck glittered. He’d won. He heard it enough times to know that 1st got gold. They won gold. He won gold.

_Gold? Is that what gold is?_

He hopped off the podium still a little unsure. Nothing had ever glittered before.

_Gold. I can see gold? Gold!_

Wait. Wait. Victor Nikiforov did not believe in curses. And if Victor Nikiforov could see gold now that meant someone here had caused him to see gold. Someone here had begun to unfurl the curse. But how could a curse be unfurled when it didn’t exist.

As Victor left the competition that evening, the night sky shone blue. Or at least he was pretty sure it was blue. That’s what he’d always heard everyone else say. So now he could see blue too? He knew it wasn’t gray like every other night sky he’d seen before this one had been. Had he’d just missed his soulmate again?

_Soulmates aren’t real._

At the hotel, he attempted to remind himself of this vital fact. Not only were curses not real but neither were soulmates. No, Victor Nikiforov didn’t believe in curses any more than he believed in soulmates. As the morning sun rose, he was still contemplating these very important facts. Going back and forth between what simple logic was telling him and the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. The nagging feeling told him that he was wrong. Soulmates absolutely do exist and Victor’s was someone he’d seen not once, but twice yesterday. Someone who could very well be close by. The thought was almost too much to handle.

At the banquet, he looked carefully into the face of each skater and then around the room to see if he’d gain the ability to see another color. He even peered into all the women’s faces, humoring himself a little bit. He knew that in all likelihood they weren’t another skater. There were hundreds of people there yesterday. It could have easily been a spectator, a member of the small of army of the media, a coach, or even someone working the event. He got sidetracked from his ongoing mission when the skater from Japan, the one he’d talked to briefly the night before, if you could even call it that, challenged Yuri to a dance battle which Yuri lost spectacularly. And then Chris was being challenged and in no time at all both of their clothes were off. And as Victor looked around the room he swore that everything wasn’t so gray.

_Oh god. Please don’t tell me Chris is my soulmate. Wait, I’ve been with Chris dozens of times before. Thank god. There’s **no** way Chris can be my soulmate then. _

The dance battle raged on. And Victor honestly couldn’t keep up. So many things were happening all at the same time. Mila’s dress was distinctly no longer gray and if he remembered correctly, he was pretty sure it was pink. Three. He could see three colors. Across the room, Yuuri, he’d learned his name at some point earlier in the night, and Chris were wrapping their bodies erotically around the pole. Victor had to admit, Yuuri was pretty hot. And kind of adorable.

_Focus. I need to focus. There is no doubt now that someone in this room is my soulmate and if I leave here without finding who it is I. Will. Go. Insane._

So lost was he in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed Yuuri unsteadily making his way over to him. Yuuri threw his arms around Victor’s middle challenging him to a dance battle of his own. Yuuri was messily grinding on him and mumbling in what he was pretty sure to be Japanese. “Victor, be my coach,” Yuuri asked switching to English. He continued to gyrate on Victor.

As Yuuri held steadfast onto Victor, Victor’s world sprung to life. The gray pushed away like the parting of the Red Sea. Dresses turned striking shades of purple, yellow, and pink. Ties became green, blue, and red. The walls and floor bore a striking orange hue. The beautiful boy in front of him was even more gorgeous as warm color filled his skin and a rosy blush covered his cheeks. Yuuri’s hair became a stunning shade of black. The tie wrapped around his head, an ugly cornflower blue.

_Oh._

_Maybe soulmates do exist._


End file.
